insights
insights
A permanent home gets attention every day. A holiday home gets salt all year and a guest who never read the manual.
Coastal air deposits salt on every surface. Humidity swells timber. Together they corrode metal and grow mould in closed rooms.
Year roundClosed from February to November, a house traps moisture. Blinds shut tight create dead air where mildew starts.
Dead airCords pulled too hard, mechanisms forced, blinds left down in full sun.
TurnoverYou live in Johannesburg or Cape Town. The house is in Plett. Problems grow quietly.
DistanceThe reliable products share three things: moisture resistance, few moving parts, and surfaces that wipe clean in seconds.
Waterproof louvres, no corrosion, robust under guest handling. A damp cloth in two minutes.
Synthetic fabric, a simple mechanism, wiped in a minute. Neutral tones photograph well.
Timber shutters swell in humidity and the hinges corrode. A guest forcing a swollen louvre means a replacement panel.
How each performs in a coastal holiday home.
| Performance | PVC shutters | Aluminium venetian | Roller blockout | Honeycomb | Timber shutters | Bamboo or woven |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moisture | Waterproof | Resistant | Synthetic fabric | Moderate | Absorbs | Absorbs |
| Salt air | No corrosion | Powder-coated | Wipe clean | Moderate | Warps, hinges corrode | Degrades |
| Guest-proof | Robust louvres | Slats can bend | Simple mechanism | Fabric can snag | Louvres can jam | Fragile |
| Turnover clean | Damp cloth, 2 minutes | Per slat | Damp cloth, 1 minute | Vacuum or brush | Polish | Difficult |
Three dots best. No dots not recommended for a coastal holiday home.
Not much time. The right timing.
Dust slats and louvres with a dry microfibre. Wipe salt off sills and hardware. Check every blind opens, closes and locks. Leave blinds partly open until the next guest.
Deep clean with mild detergent and warm water, never harsh chemicals. Inspect cords, chains and brackets for corrosion. Silicone spray on shutter hinges and roller mechanisms. Test motorised blinds and replace remote batteries.
Walk every window. Worn parts for indoor blinds are replaced through the online shop; shutters and awnings on the Garden Route are Duncan’s call.
05 Keeping mould out
It sounds wrong, but a small gap lets air circulate behind the blind and removes the dead pocket where moisture collects. PVC shutters: tilt the louvres to about 30 degrees; light and air pass, privacy from the street holds. Roller blinds: leave them raised about 15 centimetres off the sill, where condensation forms.
Found mould already?One part white vinegar to four parts warm water. Never bleach on coloured or coated surfaces. Stubborn mould on fabric is safer professionally cleaned than scrubbed.
Guests are not the enemy. They are tired from the drive down from Gauteng and unfamiliar with your windows.
PVC shutters, blockout roller blinds and aluminium venetians. All three resist moisture and salt air, have few moving parts and wipe clean between guests. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings installs them across Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and George.
Leave louvres tilted about 30 degrees or roller blinds raised about 15 centimetres when the house is empty, so air moves behind them. Wipe existing mould with one part white vinegar to four parts warm water.
Dust and check at every guest turnover; deep clean with mild detergent and inspect hardware every quarter; walk every window before the December season.
No. Humidity swells the wood, salt corrodes the hinges, and a forced louvre means a replacement panel. PVC shutters give the look without the risk.
Replacement parts for indoor blinds are ordered through the online shop. Choosing cordless or motorised blinds and leaving an instruction card at each window removes most of the causes.
Content reviewed by the Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings team.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings | South Africa’s trusted blinds, shutters and awnings specialists since 2010.